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Haldane's Mackindergarten: a Radical Experiment in British Military Education

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Haldane's Mackindergarten: a Radical Experiment in British Military Education Haldane's Mackindergarten: a radical experiment in British military education Article Accepted Version Sloan, G. (2012) Haldane's Mackindergarten: a radical experiment in British military education. War in History, 19 (3). pp. 322-352. ISSN 1477-0385 doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0968344512440399 Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/25330/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher’s version if you intend to cite from the work. See Guidance on citing . To link to this article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0968344512440399 Publisher: SAGE All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading’s research outputs online 1 HALDANE‟S MACKINDERGARTEN : A RADICAL EXPERIMENT IN BRITISH MILITARY EDUCATION? The name of Sir Halford Mackinder(1861-1947) today is associated with a form of theorising about international relations called Geopolitics1. It can be described as an attempt to apply synthesis to geography, history and international politics. He developed “outlook”which had three important qualities: an ability to interpret the past; to visualize the present ; and to imagine the future. Despite this formidable intellectual legacy some geographers, who are advocates of critical geopolitics, have wrongly interpreted both Mackinder and his ideas2 as being simply the handmaiden of Western imperialism: ”The British political geographer Halford Mackinder (1904) also argued that the ending of the nineteenth century would bring forth a different type of political and economic world. International politics would hence forth be operating in a closed world system because among other things, European colonialism and imperialism would encompass the entire earth‟s surface.”3 This interpretation ignores an important aspect about Mackinder‟s career. He was that rare beast in British public life - a polymath. His career was as diverse as it was breath- taking. It could have constituted the careers of at least five men, not one. It included serving as the Conservative MP for the Camlachie Division of Glasgow (1910-1922), Chairman of the Imperial Shipping Committee (1920-1939), and British High Commissioner to South Russia.(1919-1920). He was also the first Principal of the University of Reading (1892-1903), Director of the London School of Economics (1903-1908), and founder of the School of Geography at Oxford University in 1899.Mackinder himself recognised that his career had not been one of linear progression: ”There has been another kind of career I will describe as erratic and such a career has been mine, a long succession of adventures and resignations. I do not admit to having been a rolling stone, because I have generally known where I was 1 For an overview of his geopolitical ideas see G.R. Sloan ,Sir Halford Mackinder: The Heartland Then and Now. Taken from C.S. Gray & G. R. Sloan, Geopolitics, Geography and Strategy, London: Frank Cass 1999 p15-37. 2 For an insight into the nature of this approach see G. O‟Tuathail, Critical Geopolitics, London :Routledge,1996 p21-35. 3 K. Dodds, Geopolitics in a Changing World, Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2000 p152. 2 going –but I have certainly gathered no moss”.4 The aim of this article is to evaluate a dimension of this polymath career that has to date received only sparse and intermittent attention. Furthermore, it will be shown that it has been obscured by a combination of vague and inaccurate information. This lack of facts has been fused with an interpretation that has had the effect of distancing one of Mackinder‟s institutions-the London School of Economics- from any association with what was one of the most radical experiments in British military education during the twentieth century namely the “ Mackindergarten”. This was the nickname given to it by the LSE student magazine, The Clare Market Review5. Its official title was the Class for the Administrative Training of Army Officers. The basic parameters of this course in military education are worth stating. The first class commenced in January 1907 at the LSE. The course lasted for approximately six months. It did not confer a degree or a diploma. Instead those army officers who passed were entitled to have the letter E (examination) placed after their names in the Army List. They also received a certificate from the LSE. Finally, each class was given a class photograph. In terms of overall numbers , between 1907 and 1914,there were approximately 31 officers appointed to attend this course. The majority were from the Army Service Corps, although the infantry and other corps were represented There were also a small number of officers from the Indian Army. A brief analysis of the composition of the course will be given later. To evaluate this course a four- fold approach will be taken. First, there is a need to establish the historical facts. Secondly, the unique circumstances in which the course was conceived, and the wider political and social ideas in which it was embedded, will be explained. This will also entail assessing the personal relationships that Mackinder was able to draw upon to make the course the success that it was. Thirdly, to address the question about the radical nature of the “Mackindergarten”, it is important to identify the generic qualities of military education. This will be done by posing the following questions: What are the causes of innovation in military education? .Why in Britain was its development and progress erratic, and its utility 4 Dinner speech given by Sir Halford Mackinder at the Imperial Economic Committee,13th May 1931.Mackinder Papers, School of Geography, Oxford University. 5 B. W, Blouet, Halford Mackinder A Biography, Texas: Texas A & M University Press ,1987 p132. 3 sometimes contested? . Why was the distinction between the two branches of the British army‟s staff: operations and intelligence on the one hand and administration on the other so important ? Is military education, to paraphrase Hegel, like the truth, inherently dynamic, Is it that the truism of one generation does not hold for another? Finally, an evaluation of the success achieved in sustaining the course‟s aims, and as far as the available evidence will allow, the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer to the tactical and operational military environment will be undertaken The syllabus and exam questions of the geographical part of the course will be used to provide a means to assess the radical nature of Mackinder‟s course. Finally, an evaluation will be made concerning the reasons for the demise of the course. In terms of the historical facts, the path is littered with inaccurate and vague information .One of Mackinder‟s two biographers, Parker, maintains that the course ran for seven years and was for senior officers only : ”In 1906 Mackinder was asked by Haldane ,now Secretary of State for War, to organise at the LSE, a course for senior army officers–which came to be known as “Haldane‟s Mackindergarten”; it was held annually until 1914”.6In fact the bulk of the officers attending were captains and majors with a few colonels. The student cohort of this course could not be described as senior officers. Mackinder‟s other biographer, Blouet, while identifying the parentage of the course and the date of commencement accurately, is vague as to when it was ended.: ”Haldane (Minister of War) and Mackinder worked out a scheme to give Army officers administrative training. The first groups of officers entered the School in January 1907and completed a six month course in which they were exposed to accounting, law, economic theory, geography, statistics ,and transport studies. The program was a success and continued for many years.”7 It is only in the official history of the LSE that accurate historical facts are given in terms of the longevity of the course .What is curious about this account is that Dahrendorf attempts to distance the LSE from the course completely, and Mackinder‟s role is not commented upon or assessed: ” Strictly speaking it was not the School that made the experiment but R.B.Haldane, who had become Secretary of State for War in the 1906 Liberal Government and who released some thirty military officers for “ a course of instruction in preparation for administrative duties”. They were soon known as 6 W.H. Parker, Mackinder, Geography As An Aid To Statecraft ,Oxford :Clarendon Press ,1982 p35. 7 B.W. Blouet ,Halford Mackinder A Biography,Texas:Texas A&M University Press 1987 p132. 4 “Haldane‟s Mackindergarten”. The LSE Army Class was interrupted by the First World War but was soon reinstated in 1924 and it continued until 1932”.8 It is very clear from a War Office communiqué issued on the 10th December 1906 that Mackinder was in charge of the project.: ”In conformity with the decision already announced, it is now notified that it has been arranged by the Army Council that a Special Experimental Course of Commerical and Business Training for officers shall be commenced at the London School of Economics under Mr Mackinder the Director of the School on the 10th Jan 1907”.9.Furthermore, Dahrendorf omits any reference to the reports produced by what was called the Advisory Board, London School of Economics. This consisted of twelve members, both military and civilian who produced, between 1907 and 1914, an annual report for the War Office. This report always contained an assessment of the academic attainment of the officers on the course, and information on changes in the syllabus. In the first report the key role played by Mackinder is clearly acknowledged: ”We desire to acknowledge the invaluable services of Mr Mackinder himself in connection with the work which has been done.
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